Demolition, a hotel or a compulsory purchase order were some of the ideas debated at a meeting to discuss an "awful" Caterham eyesore on Tuesday (December 3).

The meeting, organised by Tandridge District Council's Rose and Young working party, asked residents and interested groups for their solutions for the old car showroom site in Croydon Road, which has been derelict since 1994.

Around 30 people including residents, councillors and business owners attended the meeting at Soper Hall, Harestone Valley Road, to discuss the site.

Sally Marks, county councillor for Caterham Valley, said the town was dealing with a "determined property owner who is both selfish and neglectful of his civic duties" in allowing the site to get into the state it is in, as well as being "impervious to clean and sound offers from interested parties".

Cllr Marks also defended Tandridge District Council after it was criticised for its handling of the issue.

"It's hard to see what they [the council] can do to improve the situation beyond what they have done already," she said.

"We are here to see if there's a solution to the decades-long Rose and Young challenge."

Speaking afterwards she said there was little the council could do until it had "powers to force the owner to recognise what the site is really worth", adding that the site looked "awful".

Commercially viable

Tensions ran high at points in the meeting as the frustrations of seeing the site stand empty for nearly two decades came to the fore.

After a suggestion to demolish the building, the council's chief planning officer, Piers Mason, said a company had given a "ballpark figure" of £50,000 to £100,000 to carry out the work.

One idea welcomed by councillors was one put forward by the CR3 Forum, which suggested including it in the group's neighbourhood plan which is expected to go to referendum between October 2014 and early 2015.

Spokesman Chris Windridge explained that in the plan people could designate what they would like on the site, and a neighbourhood development order could be put in place meaning any developments that fit in with the designated use voted for by residents would not need planning permission.

"My view is [that] it's one of the best shots we have," said Mr Windridge.

Rose and Young in Croydon Road, Caterham

"But whatever goes on that site has to be commercially viable. There is a lot to do but this is a reasonable proposition.

"We believe a neighbourhood plan dealing with Rose and Young is part of the solution. It's not about the last 20 years but the next [20 years]. We cannot sensibly look at it as a standalone issue."